Yeah, with almost a million paid members, it's getting pretty big there. The one thing I keep in mind is this. There's no viral posts on Substack, there's no regular income on Medium. For me, that makes it worth building both for what they each bring that the other doesn't
What I didn't like about writing for Medium wasn't just the shifting pay rates but the idea that the algorithm wasn't giving me access to the people I was most interested in (which was why I had to subscribe to them by e-mail as a default). I also felt that what I wrote about and was interested in writing about were not priorities for the management, a fact confirmed when I was capriciously banned from the site.
There's a lot less of that at Substack- I chiefly only get read by the people who subscribe to my accounts and share my posts with their subscribers, and I like that better. And when I am occasionally given funds for a paid subscription, it comes from the subscriber's own pocket and not the mythical community chest they have at Medium- which is even more important.
Paid subscriber and inconsistent writer here. I read on both platforms and am interested in writing on both once I get a bit more consistent. :) Based on what I'm reading in both places, I'm planning on Substack for more regular income, and anything from Medium would be gravy. Also, it takes a while of course to build up. I do like that Substack seems to be better about showing your posts to new people who would be interested in the subject you write about.
Great article Linda . . . I've been meaning to get started on Substack, but I haven't come up with a name for my "niche" which (on your suggestion) would probably do better than something titled "Patricia's musings." In any event, I was never hoping to make a ton of money on Medium. First year was $500 (Woo-Hoo!). I won't say what second year was (it was less). I hoped to supplement my income from my "day job," and make some connections. Medium has more than satisfied that hope! I'm made good friends on Medium (who wudda thought?): Helen Cassidy Page and I meet for brunch regularly, I'm meeting Melinda Blau in New York next week. Others I banter back-and-forth with (isn't it nice that we can end sentences with a preposition now? - As of February this year, Merriam Webster says we can!) You are definitely one of the writers whose writing I admire most! So I have a question: Can I move stories from Medium to Substack?
I have essentially left Medium and moved to Substack and I've moved at least half of my Medium stories to Substack. I cut and paste them, but Substack has a method of moving all of your Medium stories if you choose to do that.
I had to learn how to train the algorithm and not be a looker loo.
I’m really curious so I saw some stories about people earning their first money on Medium. I was thinking about joining the Partner Program so I read some of that article. Then I saw someone complaining about earnings and I wondered why. The next wrote one story everyone liked and it went viral. I was curious.
Soon all I got sent was how Tom, Dick, and Blowjob made their first buck.
I had to go to Philosophy and read three enjoyable stories, then over to books and a story about Narnia, over to basketball and read a coach’s philosophy and then into my followers and randomly pick widespread professions.
Finally the algorithm understood this gal’s high maintenance just keep shovelling her the best of the best.
As far as money goes. I’m retired and I’m learning like I’m in kindergarten - it’s keeping me vibrant and passionate. To me that is priceless. But I’d never want to date an algorithm- imagine an AI kiss.
Laughed so hard at Tom, Dick and Blowjob. God your sense of humor slays me. I had to do the same. Teach the algorithm what I actually want to see. Because Christ, it's a bit much. lol
I once had hopes of building a respectable income stream from writing but I realize that it's not going to work. I have zero interest in niche writing because it would become boring and burdensome to me. I used to get paid to write in FTE jobs (with benefits) and that was worth putting up with the boredom of writing about what my employer dictated, but what I've been able to make on my own isn't worth the trade off.
I'm on Substack but so infrequently now that it probably looks like I've quit. There are only so many subscriptions people can afford, so even if I was.churning out consistent quality content I can't imagine a world in which people would choose me over Stephen Fry.
I've thought about writing plays or novels and although it's appealing to think about, I've yet to keep the momentum going long enough to finish any project I start. I have to think about where I go from here. I went through a period of anger and resentment about my experience with Medium, but I've come to realize that it's like complaining about the weather. There's nothing I can do about it, so I either venture forth or stay home.
I think about you a lot, Denise. You and me both got whacked at the kneecaps when History of Yesterday up and left. I hate seeing good writers floundering. And I have some thoughts, but they're real rough. And I have a conference call with clients in half an hour. But I'll be back. Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you. Maybe we have a rain dance in us yet. :)
I like Medium for what I can learn from expert writers who know how to write interesting content that hooks the reader.
I'm not concerned with how much I can earn here because I'm not at that level. What I really want to accomplish here at Medium is to learn how to write better and build a loyal and devoted audience.
If I can do that, I figure my audience will follow me to other platforms like Substack that enables a more consistent income from writing.
Initially, I just wanted to get back to writing the same sort of things I wrote as a syndicated newspaper columnist. I missed that so much after being laid off from a newspaper.
Honestly, the prospect of earning another $100 per month was a big draw and I hoped to get there. We were living on so little money at that point. An extra $100 would cover (in those days, not now!) a couple week's worth of groceries.
I'm making more than that on Medium now, and it's helping so much. I'm thrifty, and reaching a thousand bucks some months has been a real game-changer for my household.
But at this point, I have a new dream. Will my audience on Medium and Substack buy my books? I've released the paperback of The Trailer Park Rules and the ebook is on pre-order -- I'm hoping to sell enough paperbacks in advance to get some reviews and attention to help the launch of the ebook. We shall see. Will anybody besides my family and friends buy this book? I'm quite anxious to find out. If not, well, maybe I'll get a job at Taco Bell. The pay rate is about what I made as the editor of a daily newspaper!
(My Substack, Untrickled, is available free, and I make this offer to readers on this platform. If you want to read The Trailer Park Rules but cannot afford to buy it, send me an email at michelleteheux@gmail.com, and put The Trailer Park Rules in the subject line. I will send you a free copy via Bookfunnel. I want people to be able to read it whether they have money or not.
I have a conference call in 45 minutes as I'm typing this and I'm not ready for it. So of course I'm reading Substack. lol. But you and me, we're going to talk. :)
Essentially, I wanted to earn an income through Medium, so I was testing the platform out in my first year. While there have been moments where I earned a good amount (when I got boosted), it is pretty inconsistent. Even this year, my numbers have been low. I’m still thinking of writing on Medium, but I may have to look elsewhere to find another income stream. Writers need to eat too lol.
I've turned more to Medium than in the past, primarily because of two boosted articles. That encouraged me to continue. My readership is growing, and I am trying to focus in on several topics that I think would pull people in - grief being one of them. I spent time yesterday going through top publications, making applications - and I realized in the past, before I was taken over by hospice and my husband's death, that I was already writing for several of them and getting accepted into them - but not much happening. That was encouraging to me. - I was already involved, so I needed to up my game - which I have been doing. I can see a huge improvement in my writing...and I applied to have my book on hospice verified on Medium. So I see progress. Substack - I'm just not sure about - I have a project going there, but I am not doing subscriptions because I do not want money going to Naza publications. I may change, but right now I am trying to manage Twitter, LinkedIn, and Medium for consistency, as well as learn more about platforms and writing. Too much and I can't handle everything. Thanks for your insights!
I left Medium for many reasons. Lack of potential income, and lack of visibility among them. But, I looked around, did some research for a few months and came up with a plan that I'm happy with, and continues to evolve with transmedia storytelling. Here's my plan, laid out before I discovered transmedia storytelling...
(I think it was Michael La Ronn who first gave me the core of the idea for this, but I’ve read so much in the past year on platform creation that I can’t say with certainty if it was him)
Someone (maybe Michael La Ronn, maybe Russell Nohelty?I can’t remember) once said something to the effect of, "Imagine you have a hypothetical workshop in which you are building a stool. It has 3 legs that will support that goal. Break down what those legs are and how you'll reach for them." I know the stool analogy has been overdone, but hear me out. The stool is your platform…how you get your message out. In fiction, your “message” is made up of your stories. The legs of your stool are how you get your message or stories out into the world.
Instead of 3 legs, my stool has 4.
* YouTube
* Substack
* Novel Series & short stories & serial fiction
* Ko-fi
Ko-fi plays into my overall vision by offering supporters a place where they can support my writing once, or as they can afford it, rather than being locked into paying a specific rate like on Substack, or Patreon. I like the choice that Ko-fi provides folks that can't afford or want to pay yearly. It also provides me a place to sell future worldbuilding guides, essay collections, and short story anthologies set in Uclandia, rather than just on Amazon. (I won’t go into all the places I sell to through Draft2Digital that don’t lend themselves easily to that kind of content) I’m also exploring releasing fiction serials through subscription-based Ream.
I spend a lot of time on the topics pages and I think a lot of writers just aren't using the tags correctly. I'll go through "racism" and "black lives matter" and "culture." This is a way to filter down the number of articles that we have to look at. It's rarely more than 50 or so a day on those tags, sometimes not even that much. Also, you can scroll on by a LOT of them without even clicking on them. Bad titles and bad featured images are instant disqualifications (you'll know what I mean if you scroll through the topics pages). The reason I'm mentioning this is that I feel it is possible to be seen by curators using keywords, and that's only one ways of getting your work seen. I'll have to write some more tutorials on this.
As for a "plan," I'm just using the various platforms to build a reader base. Then, I'll publish the fairy books I've written for my kids :)
Me too! I think it's a case of people new to the platform who just don't know. I checked out your indie record publication. That's a nice concept! I just stumbled across an indie radio station on my way to the airport the other day and it was a relief to hear 12 straight songs I'd never heard before!
I am so looking forward to the fairy books, Walter. Can hardly wait to hold one in my hands, take pictures and write about it. And yeah - I see the same with tags. I used to tag scroll to find posts to nominate but now I'm boosting from four pubs and don't do that as much anymore. But a lot of writers could sure stand to learn to understand the tag system a bit better.
That's so sweet of you to say. I opened up the file of the 5th book the other day and I was surprised to see that it's over 500 pages long and more than a quarter of a million words (that's just the last book). Even if it has to be chiseled down and polished up, there's a lot there to work with! Regarding Boost, I am following a similar pattern. I still glance at the tags a couple times a week, but most of my nominations are coming from publications. I also do a lot of work recruiting good writers and working on their drafts.
Hey Linda, I've been taking writing courses with Tim Denning and Todd Brison, as well as Ayodeji, and my views on making money from writing have changed completely. I think wanting to monetize our own stories, whether via Patreon, Medium, Substack, Ghost, some Webnovel contracts, etc. is just too hard for most of us. Most folks earn a miniscule amount that will never cover our rent and food. Some people can do it, yes, but they are in the minority.
Instead, what I've come to believe, is that it's better to do freelance work. It doesn't have to be writing things we don't care about or hate. We could have some selectivity. Freelance writing (copywriting, ghost writing, content writing, etc.) is only one option. Freelance editing, book coaching, teaching writing workshops, or being a guest speaker, are some other options. While it's not easy to build a big client base with freelancing, it's still way more doable than trying to make a livable wage from sites like Medium (for most of us).
It felt sad to me that we cheer over a mere $100 for a boosted article, when a freelance editor could earn that amount or more from editing for 2 hours, for instance. A coach could earn way more than a $100 (depending on what they charge) from doing a 1-hr private coaching session. It doesn't have to be several thousand bucks. It could just be $250, for instance.
I'm aiming to do fiction book coaching, and am taking a course for fiction book coaches. This will also include beta reading and sensitivity reading for me. I didn't even know we could be paid for this until now. I've been doing this work for free for years, lol.
Anyway, I know others may disagree, but I'd rather do something lower risk and higher reward like freelancing. I want to tell my fellow writers, that there is no shame whatsoever in teaching, coaching, editing, or freelance writing to make a living. You can always find clients and genres/ subject matters that you enjoy working with. It doesn't have to feel like drudgery. Again, I know this is all easier said than done. But it's still easier than trying to make it big on Medium, and consistently earn enough each month on Medium to pay the bills.
Freelancing could pay much more than just your bills, depending on how established you become. Why settle for mere survival? I feel like Medium has trained us to expect less and value our work less. Despite good intentions. I agree that Medium should be seen as a bonus, rather than a main source of income. Medium sure feels comfortable, but sadly, staying in our comfort zone will not bring home the bacon.
Agreed to all of the above! Yeah it's been fun seeing their different teaching styles! :D I saw you in Tim and Todd's Write 4/28 screenshotted testimonials, which was one reason why I joined, since that was like a friend testimonial, haha.
Lightning in a bottle is an awesome way to describe it! Tim and Todd have a great way to make things fun, engaging, and encourage us to interact as a whole community, and even make friends. It really feels like writing is not just a solo endeavor. Write 4/28 highlights the power of social groups to motivate you to do your best! I have ADHD, so social accountability (and friendly peer pressure) works wonders for me, haha.
You’re talking about earning money, which can be done in infinite ways. I’m interested in writing. The best ways to earn money don’t involve extracting money from people who dream of writing. Editing, yes, that’s an actually valuable service every writer needs. Editing is a valuable skill I respect and possess. Freelance writing, sure. I do some now and then. I don’t think of Denning as a writer but a salesperson, and if I were interested in selling stuff, I’d get a job at a used car lot. If he’s ever written anything wonderful, I’ve missed it. I blocked him soon after landing on Medium because his sales copy irritated the fuck out of me.
Michelle, we will have to agree to disagree on Tim Denning, haha. I have read many wonderful posts by him, even some that made me cry. Perhaps you are not the target audience! Honestly I think many people are falling into stereotypes about Tim, and are just parroting what others are saying.
There's the issue about confirmation bias, too. He says many things that go against the stereotype of a "rich white guy." He's a lot nicer than people give him credit for. I think many of us automatically distrust people in power, especially rich white men. Yet, that blinds us from seeing the actual person in front of us, since our biases are coloring our perceptions.
As for writing courses, I personally had very positive experiences with them, and they helped me a lot. Not just the instruction, which was very useful in itself, but also the power of being in the presence of other driven, uplifting people. It's not just blind optimism, btw. There's a lot of blunt honesty, sharing of doubts and fears. We also get help on our personal struggles with writing and businesses.
On that note, I used to think sales was evil, too. Now I see it as neutral. If someone wants to advertise their services as a freelance editor or freelance writer, they will have to sell, too. There are lots of different ways of selling, and you of course don't have to do it Tim's way. But I stopped seeing money, business, and sales people as evil, lol.
I had never heard of Denning before I joined Medium. I immediately felt he was just here to suck money from hopeful writers, and nothing of his I read struck me as what I'd consider good writing. If he's ever written anything that didn't relate to selling courses, I didn't see it.
Again, we will have to agree to disagree there, haha. Imo, he does write very well. His stories are compelling, fun, exciting, and give me a lot of food for thought. There is never any obligation to buy his courses. They are just there for those who are interested. You are always free to ignore them, haha.
Plust, if you already blocked him after reading just a few of his posts, then you won't have a big sample size to see how he is as a person. Of course you don't have to read anything you don't want to, and maybe he's just not your cup of tea, and that's okay.
I used to believe, just like many others here, that writing courses are a scam/ pyramid scheme. However, my experiences have challenged these beliefs. Sure, some people may be scammers. But I found Tim and Todd's, and Ayo's writing courses to be super helpful for me. Again, it's fine if you don't want to take writing courses from Tim or anyone else. Just saying that some of us had very positive experiences, so it's not fair to dismiss our experiences, either, imho.
Your post is great addition to stories about writing on Medium, and why so many of us find it a complete waste of time. I wrote about that here: https://medium.com/@christopherlancette/is-writing-on-medium-mostly-a-complete-waste-of-time-yes-7d8fd12ffbab. I haven't written in ages and see no reason to ever bother again. I've taken the time wasted on Medium and spent it on writing for and pitching mainstream media and literary journals -- both of which are such a better use of my time. You and one other writer are the only reason I haven't cancelled Medium. I read your stuff but that's it. But I do agree with you that if Medium is just an unpaid hobby for people, it may be a good use of time for them. For the rest of us, no. I keep letting my monthly bill renew because it's so cheap as to be irrelevant, and I think maybe I could use the platform to promote my writing from real media outlets, but I haven't bothered. Every minute I waste here is a minute I could be spending trying to write for real media outlets.
Irony alert -- I just realized I was reading you on Substack and not Medium as the post came to me by email so I just saw your name and clicked because I always read your stuff. So there really is no reason for me to keep my Medium account!
I made a profit last year, for the first time, as a writer. I was thrilled. Medium.com was most of it. I'll stay. I like the platform. I also like the way I feel gently "reigned in" by you. I want stuff right now; Ariel gets aggravated at me. I have to remember: we're all in this together, so relax. It will happen.
Yeah, with almost a million paid members, it's getting pretty big there. The one thing I keep in mind is this. There's no viral posts on Substack, there's no regular income on Medium. For me, that makes it worth building both for what they each bring that the other doesn't
What I didn't like about writing for Medium wasn't just the shifting pay rates but the idea that the algorithm wasn't giving me access to the people I was most interested in (which was why I had to subscribe to them by e-mail as a default). I also felt that what I wrote about and was interested in writing about were not priorities for the management, a fact confirmed when I was capriciously banned from the site.
There's a lot less of that at Substack- I chiefly only get read by the people who subscribe to my accounts and share my posts with their subscribers, and I like that better. And when I am occasionally given funds for a paid subscription, it comes from the subscriber's own pocket and not the mythical community chest they have at Medium- which is even more important.
You’re inspiring me to consider Substack. But that’s a BIGGER deal. Thinking
Great points, David.
I think you'll like today's post. Touches on writing reaching its readers.
Paid subscriber and inconsistent writer here. I read on both platforms and am interested in writing on both once I get a bit more consistent. :) Based on what I'm reading in both places, I'm planning on Substack for more regular income, and anything from Medium would be gravy. Also, it takes a while of course to build up. I do like that Substack seems to be better about showing your posts to new people who would be interested in the subject you write about.
Great article Linda . . . I've been meaning to get started on Substack, but I haven't come up with a name for my "niche" which (on your suggestion) would probably do better than something titled "Patricia's musings." In any event, I was never hoping to make a ton of money on Medium. First year was $500 (Woo-Hoo!). I won't say what second year was (it was less). I hoped to supplement my income from my "day job," and make some connections. Medium has more than satisfied that hope! I'm made good friends on Medium (who wudda thought?): Helen Cassidy Page and I meet for brunch regularly, I'm meeting Melinda Blau in New York next week. Others I banter back-and-forth with (isn't it nice that we can end sentences with a preposition now? - As of February this year, Merriam Webster says we can!) You are definitely one of the writers whose writing I admire most! So I have a question: Can I move stories from Medium to Substack?
I have essentially left Medium and moved to Substack and I've moved at least half of my Medium stories to Substack. I cut and paste them, but Substack has a method of moving all of your Medium stories if you choose to do that.
I had to learn how to train the algorithm and not be a looker loo.
I’m really curious so I saw some stories about people earning their first money on Medium. I was thinking about joining the Partner Program so I read some of that article. Then I saw someone complaining about earnings and I wondered why. The next wrote one story everyone liked and it went viral. I was curious.
Soon all I got sent was how Tom, Dick, and Blowjob made their first buck.
I had to go to Philosophy and read three enjoyable stories, then over to books and a story about Narnia, over to basketball and read a coach’s philosophy and then into my followers and randomly pick widespread professions.
Finally the algorithm understood this gal’s high maintenance just keep shovelling her the best of the best.
As far as money goes. I’m retired and I’m learning like I’m in kindergarten - it’s keeping me vibrant and passionate. To me that is priceless. But I’d never want to date an algorithm- imagine an AI kiss.
Laughed so hard at Tom, Dick and Blowjob. God your sense of humor slays me. I had to do the same. Teach the algorithm what I actually want to see. Because Christ, it's a bit much. lol
I once had hopes of building a respectable income stream from writing but I realize that it's not going to work. I have zero interest in niche writing because it would become boring and burdensome to me. I used to get paid to write in FTE jobs (with benefits) and that was worth putting up with the boredom of writing about what my employer dictated, but what I've been able to make on my own isn't worth the trade off.
I'm on Substack but so infrequently now that it probably looks like I've quit. There are only so many subscriptions people can afford, so even if I was.churning out consistent quality content I can't imagine a world in which people would choose me over Stephen Fry.
I've thought about writing plays or novels and although it's appealing to think about, I've yet to keep the momentum going long enough to finish any project I start. I have to think about where I go from here. I went through a period of anger and resentment about my experience with Medium, but I've come to realize that it's like complaining about the weather. There's nothing I can do about it, so I either venture forth or stay home.
I think about you a lot, Denise. You and me both got whacked at the kneecaps when History of Yesterday up and left. I hate seeing good writers floundering. And I have some thoughts, but they're real rough. And I have a conference call with clients in half an hour. But I'll be back. Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you. Maybe we have a rain dance in us yet. :)
That’s kind of you, Linda. My friend Jamie says I’m just composting until I’m ready to start planting again. 🌼
I like Medium for what I can learn from expert writers who know how to write interesting content that hooks the reader.
I'm not concerned with how much I can earn here because I'm not at that level. What I really want to accomplish here at Medium is to learn how to write better and build a loyal and devoted audience.
If I can do that, I figure my audience will follow me to other platforms like Substack that enables a more consistent income from writing.
Initially, I just wanted to get back to writing the same sort of things I wrote as a syndicated newspaper columnist. I missed that so much after being laid off from a newspaper.
Honestly, the prospect of earning another $100 per month was a big draw and I hoped to get there. We were living on so little money at that point. An extra $100 would cover (in those days, not now!) a couple week's worth of groceries.
I'm making more than that on Medium now, and it's helping so much. I'm thrifty, and reaching a thousand bucks some months has been a real game-changer for my household.
But at this point, I have a new dream. Will my audience on Medium and Substack buy my books? I've released the paperback of The Trailer Park Rules and the ebook is on pre-order -- I'm hoping to sell enough paperbacks in advance to get some reviews and attention to help the launch of the ebook. We shall see. Will anybody besides my family and friends buy this book? I'm quite anxious to find out. If not, well, maybe I'll get a job at Taco Bell. The pay rate is about what I made as the editor of a daily newspaper!
(My Substack, Untrickled, is available free, and I make this offer to readers on this platform. If you want to read The Trailer Park Rules but cannot afford to buy it, send me an email at michelleteheux@gmail.com, and put The Trailer Park Rules in the subject line. I will send you a free copy via Bookfunnel. I want people to be able to read it whether they have money or not.
Link to book for more info: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTHT43L9
I have a conference call in 45 minutes as I'm typing this and I'm not ready for it. So of course I'm reading Substack. lol. But you and me, we're going to talk. :)
Should I be afraid?!?
Oh gosh no. lol. Want to help you get where you should be. xo
Let me know when you're available!
Essentially, I wanted to earn an income through Medium, so I was testing the platform out in my first year. While there have been moments where I earned a good amount (when I got boosted), it is pretty inconsistent. Even this year, my numbers have been low. I’m still thinking of writing on Medium, but I may have to look elsewhere to find another income stream. Writers need to eat too lol.
I've turned more to Medium than in the past, primarily because of two boosted articles. That encouraged me to continue. My readership is growing, and I am trying to focus in on several topics that I think would pull people in - grief being one of them. I spent time yesterday going through top publications, making applications - and I realized in the past, before I was taken over by hospice and my husband's death, that I was already writing for several of them and getting accepted into them - but not much happening. That was encouraging to me. - I was already involved, so I needed to up my game - which I have been doing. I can see a huge improvement in my writing...and I applied to have my book on hospice verified on Medium. So I see progress. Substack - I'm just not sure about - I have a project going there, but I am not doing subscriptions because I do not want money going to Naza publications. I may change, but right now I am trying to manage Twitter, LinkedIn, and Medium for consistency, as well as learn more about platforms and writing. Too much and I can't handle everything. Thanks for your insights!
I left Medium for many reasons. Lack of potential income, and lack of visibility among them. But, I looked around, did some research for a few months and came up with a plan that I'm happy with, and continues to evolve with transmedia storytelling. Here's my plan, laid out before I discovered transmedia storytelling...
(I think it was Michael La Ronn who first gave me the core of the idea for this, but I’ve read so much in the past year on platform creation that I can’t say with certainty if it was him)
Someone (maybe Michael La Ronn, maybe Russell Nohelty?I can’t remember) once said something to the effect of, "Imagine you have a hypothetical workshop in which you are building a stool. It has 3 legs that will support that goal. Break down what those legs are and how you'll reach for them." I know the stool analogy has been overdone, but hear me out. The stool is your platform…how you get your message out. In fiction, your “message” is made up of your stories. The legs of your stool are how you get your message or stories out into the world.
Instead of 3 legs, my stool has 4.
* YouTube
* Substack
* Novel Series & short stories & serial fiction
* Ko-fi
Ko-fi plays into my overall vision by offering supporters a place where they can support my writing once, or as they can afford it, rather than being locked into paying a specific rate like on Substack, or Patreon. I like the choice that Ko-fi provides folks that can't afford or want to pay yearly. It also provides me a place to sell future worldbuilding guides, essay collections, and short story anthologies set in Uclandia, rather than just on Amazon. (I won’t go into all the places I sell to through Draft2Digital that don’t lend themselves easily to that kind of content) I’m also exploring releasing fiction serials through subscription-based Ream.
I spend a lot of time on the topics pages and I think a lot of writers just aren't using the tags correctly. I'll go through "racism" and "black lives matter" and "culture." This is a way to filter down the number of articles that we have to look at. It's rarely more than 50 or so a day on those tags, sometimes not even that much. Also, you can scroll on by a LOT of them without even clicking on them. Bad titles and bad featured images are instant disqualifications (you'll know what I mean if you scroll through the topics pages). The reason I'm mentioning this is that I feel it is possible to be seen by curators using keywords, and that's only one ways of getting your work seen. I'll have to write some more tutorials on this.
As for a "plan," I'm just using the various platforms to build a reader base. Then, I'll publish the fairy books I've written for my kids :)
Some are also intentionally using them incorrectly in the hopes of increased visibility.
As an editor, I've noticed a lot of people not using them at all! I thought it might just be a few people, but it's been happening quite a bit lately.
Me too! I think it's a case of people new to the platform who just don't know. I checked out your indie record publication. That's a nice concept! I just stumbled across an indie radio station on my way to the airport the other day and it was a relief to hear 12 straight songs I'd never heard before!
Thank you! If I can ask, what station was it (I think we're both in Wisconsin)?
I was heading into MSP, it was The Current
Nice! I love The Current.
I am so looking forward to the fairy books, Walter. Can hardly wait to hold one in my hands, take pictures and write about it. And yeah - I see the same with tags. I used to tag scroll to find posts to nominate but now I'm boosting from four pubs and don't do that as much anymore. But a lot of writers could sure stand to learn to understand the tag system a bit better.
That's so sweet of you to say. I opened up the file of the 5th book the other day and I was surprised to see that it's over 500 pages long and more than a quarter of a million words (that's just the last book). Even if it has to be chiseled down and polished up, there's a lot there to work with! Regarding Boost, I am following a similar pattern. I still glance at the tags a couple times a week, but most of my nominations are coming from publications. I also do a lot of work recruiting good writers and working on their drafts.
Hey Linda, I've been taking writing courses with Tim Denning and Todd Brison, as well as Ayodeji, and my views on making money from writing have changed completely. I think wanting to monetize our own stories, whether via Patreon, Medium, Substack, Ghost, some Webnovel contracts, etc. is just too hard for most of us. Most folks earn a miniscule amount that will never cover our rent and food. Some people can do it, yes, but they are in the minority.
Instead, what I've come to believe, is that it's better to do freelance work. It doesn't have to be writing things we don't care about or hate. We could have some selectivity. Freelance writing (copywriting, ghost writing, content writing, etc.) is only one option. Freelance editing, book coaching, teaching writing workshops, or being a guest speaker, are some other options. While it's not easy to build a big client base with freelancing, it's still way more doable than trying to make a livable wage from sites like Medium (for most of us).
It felt sad to me that we cheer over a mere $100 for a boosted article, when a freelance editor could earn that amount or more from editing for 2 hours, for instance. A coach could earn way more than a $100 (depending on what they charge) from doing a 1-hr private coaching session. It doesn't have to be several thousand bucks. It could just be $250, for instance.
I'm aiming to do fiction book coaching, and am taking a course for fiction book coaches. This will also include beta reading and sensitivity reading for me. I didn't even know we could be paid for this until now. I've been doing this work for free for years, lol.
Anyway, I know others may disagree, but I'd rather do something lower risk and higher reward like freelancing. I want to tell my fellow writers, that there is no shame whatsoever in teaching, coaching, editing, or freelance writing to make a living. You can always find clients and genres/ subject matters that you enjoy working with. It doesn't have to feel like drudgery. Again, I know this is all easier said than done. But it's still easier than trying to make it big on Medium, and consistently earn enough each month on Medium to pay the bills.
Freelancing could pay much more than just your bills, depending on how established you become. Why settle for mere survival? I feel like Medium has trained us to expect less and value our work less. Despite good intentions. I agree that Medium should be seen as a bonus, rather than a main source of income. Medium sure feels comfortable, but sadly, staying in our comfort zone will not bring home the bacon.
Two things:
I love editing, and am always looking to pick up more freelance editing work.
Todd Brison & Ayo are both awesome for wildly different reasons.
Agreed to all of the above! Yeah it's been fun seeing their different teaching styles! :D I saw you in Tim and Todd's Write 4/28 screenshotted testimonials, which was one reason why I joined, since that was like a friend testimonial, haha.
Lol. Awesome. We had a lot of fun in that class. I don't know what it was, but everyone clicked. it felt like lightning in a bottle.
Lightning in a bottle is an awesome way to describe it! Tim and Todd have a great way to make things fun, engaging, and encourage us to interact as a whole community, and even make friends. It really feels like writing is not just a solo endeavor. Write 4/28 highlights the power of social groups to motivate you to do your best! I have ADHD, so social accountability (and friendly peer pressure) works wonders for me, haha.
You’re talking about earning money, which can be done in infinite ways. I’m interested in writing. The best ways to earn money don’t involve extracting money from people who dream of writing. Editing, yes, that’s an actually valuable service every writer needs. Editing is a valuable skill I respect and possess. Freelance writing, sure. I do some now and then. I don’t think of Denning as a writer but a salesperson, and if I were interested in selling stuff, I’d get a job at a used car lot. If he’s ever written anything wonderful, I’ve missed it. I blocked him soon after landing on Medium because his sales copy irritated the fuck out of me.
Michelle, we will have to agree to disagree on Tim Denning, haha. I have read many wonderful posts by him, even some that made me cry. Perhaps you are not the target audience! Honestly I think many people are falling into stereotypes about Tim, and are just parroting what others are saying.
There's the issue about confirmation bias, too. He says many things that go against the stereotype of a "rich white guy." He's a lot nicer than people give him credit for. I think many of us automatically distrust people in power, especially rich white men. Yet, that blinds us from seeing the actual person in front of us, since our biases are coloring our perceptions.
As for writing courses, I personally had very positive experiences with them, and they helped me a lot. Not just the instruction, which was very useful in itself, but also the power of being in the presence of other driven, uplifting people. It's not just blind optimism, btw. There's a lot of blunt honesty, sharing of doubts and fears. We also get help on our personal struggles with writing and businesses.
On that note, I used to think sales was evil, too. Now I see it as neutral. If someone wants to advertise their services as a freelance editor or freelance writer, they will have to sell, too. There are lots of different ways of selling, and you of course don't have to do it Tim's way. But I stopped seeing money, business, and sales people as evil, lol.
I had never heard of Denning before I joined Medium. I immediately felt he was just here to suck money from hopeful writers, and nothing of his I read struck me as what I'd consider good writing. If he's ever written anything that didn't relate to selling courses, I didn't see it.
Again, we will have to agree to disagree there, haha. Imo, he does write very well. His stories are compelling, fun, exciting, and give me a lot of food for thought. There is never any obligation to buy his courses. They are just there for those who are interested. You are always free to ignore them, haha.
Plust, if you already blocked him after reading just a few of his posts, then you won't have a big sample size to see how he is as a person. Of course you don't have to read anything you don't want to, and maybe he's just not your cup of tea, and that's okay.
I used to believe, just like many others here, that writing courses are a scam/ pyramid scheme. However, my experiences have challenged these beliefs. Sure, some people may be scammers. But I found Tim and Todd's, and Ayo's writing courses to be super helpful for me. Again, it's fine if you don't want to take writing courses from Tim or anyone else. Just saying that some of us had very positive experiences, so it's not fair to dismiss our experiences, either, imho.
A huckster, in my estimation,
I’ll bet you could have figured this out on your own without padding Denning’s coffers.
Haha obviously that wasn't the only thing I learned from his courses. In response to this whole conversation, I've written an article where I clear a lot of misconceptions about Tim Denning: https://medium.com/@sieranlane/in-defense-of-tim-denning-ee4d80dd1493?sk=2c2d246824b7d73321b7088a4659ddfe
I'll give it a read.
Your post is great addition to stories about writing on Medium, and why so many of us find it a complete waste of time. I wrote about that here: https://medium.com/@christopherlancette/is-writing-on-medium-mostly-a-complete-waste-of-time-yes-7d8fd12ffbab. I haven't written in ages and see no reason to ever bother again. I've taken the time wasted on Medium and spent it on writing for and pitching mainstream media and literary journals -- both of which are such a better use of my time. You and one other writer are the only reason I haven't cancelled Medium. I read your stuff but that's it. But I do agree with you that if Medium is just an unpaid hobby for people, it may be a good use of time for them. For the rest of us, no. I keep letting my monthly bill renew because it's so cheap as to be irrelevant, and I think maybe I could use the platform to promote my writing from real media outlets, but I haven't bothered. Every minute I waste here is a minute I could be spending trying to write for real media outlets.
Irony alert -- I just realized I was reading you on Substack and not Medium as the post came to me by email so I just saw your name and clicked because I always read your stuff. So there really is no reason for me to keep my Medium account!
Unless you would miss my personal essays because I don't post those on Substack :)
I make more on medium than anywhere else, although the ups and downs are annoying.
There are "over a dozen" curators now. fyi.
I made a profit last year, for the first time, as a writer. I was thrilled. Medium.com was most of it. I'll stay. I like the platform. I also like the way I feel gently "reigned in" by you. I want stuff right now; Ariel gets aggravated at me. I have to remember: we're all in this together, so relax. It will happen.
It's all a matter of what people expect from Medium. If some expect Medium to pay their bills, they will be disappointed.
I was in the same boat. But now, I don't expect Medium to pay me significant income.
That made all the difference. I write on Medium to voice my opinion about teaching, business, side hustles, or anything.
What helped me see that fact is I have a full-time job, and I make money from other side hustles. Medium is not my bread and butter.
I don't expect much from Medium, so I’m okay when I receive $10 - $20 monthly for my writing. It's all a matter of expectations.
Great piece, Linda.
I like that, Don. What we expect determines how we feel about it.